Creighton University
Wichita State
Bluejays Set Record, Neuvirth Reaches Milestone in 89-48 Win Over Wichita State
1/7/2010 10:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
OMAHA, Neb. – Creighton set a school record by shooting 64 percent from the field and senior Megan Neuvirth became the 20th player in school history to eclipse 1,000 career points as the Bluejays crushed Wichita State 89-48 in the first Missouri Valley Conference game at D.J. Sokol Arena Thursday night. Neuvirth led all players with 16 points, while Sam Schuett logged her second straight double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds as the Bluejays registered their largest margin of victory ever in a Valley game.
The Jays shot 72.7 percent after halftime, out-rebounded the Shockers 42-20 and had all 10 Bluejays dent the scoring column in CU's highest scoring game in 364 days. The win moved Creighton to 8-4 overall, 3-0 in MVC play, while dropping WSU to 10-4, 2-1 in The Valley.
Creighton scored the first four points of the game and led 20-6 nine minutes into the contest. The Shockers did not have a rebound until the 14:11 mark and Schuett had more rebounds in the first half than the entire WSU team, 9-7. The Bluejays out-rebounded the Shockers 25-7 in the first half, while the Jays made 16-of-28 (.571) baskets and drained 5-of-7 (.714) three-pointers in the opening half, building to a 45-21 at the break.
The Shockers would get no closer than 21 points in the second half, while the 41-point final margin was Creighton's largest in the game.
Neuvirth eclipsed 1,000 career points with a steal and layup 1:03 into the second half and scored 12 of her game-high 16 points in the second half. She also led the Jays with five assists in the win. Schuett's double-double was the ninth of her career and third of the season, leading all players with 13 boards to go along with 12 points. She went 5-for-5 at the free-throw line to extend her streak to 21 straight makes at the stripe.
Kellie Nelson scored a season-high 15 points, blocked a career-high four shots and added seven rebounds and two steals for the Jays. Kelsey Woodard scored 12 of her 14 points in the first half, making both of her three-point attempts in the game. DaNae Moore, who entered the game with three points on the season, tied a career-high with nine points off the bench for the Jays.
CU shot 72.7 percent (16-22) in the second half to finish 32-of-50 (.640) in the game, eclipsing the former school record of 63.9 percent (39-61) set at Bradley on Jan. 27, 1994.
WSU was led by Jessica Diamond's 11 points off the bench.
Creighton, which has won its last three MVC home openers by an average of 35.3 points, will host Missouri State (10-4, 2-1 MVC) on Saturday at 2:05 p.m. The Lady Bears lost 88-84 at Drake on Thursday night.
NOTES: Creighton finished with a season-best 25 assists ... Katie Frank dished a career-high four assists and now has 15 assists and zero turnovers in six home games this year ... Frank's field goal with 10 seconds left in the game gave all 10 Bluejays at least two points in the win ... Kelsey Crites tied her season-high with five assists ... Kelsey Woodard has made a three-pointer in 19 straight games ... The 41-point win was the largest margin of victory under Jim Flanery (following the largest road win under Flanery) and was the largest win by the Bluejays since a 106-44 victory over Delaware (Dec. 30, 1993) ... The margin of victory is CU's largest ever in an MVC game.
